It’s easy to laugh at the US creationism Intelligent Design movement, because us Brits are made of smarter stuff. Aren’t we? Nope:

More than half the British population does not accept the theory of evolution… more than 40% of those questioned believe that creationism or intelligent design should be taught in school science lessons.

OK, any survey should be taken with a pinch of salt, but the Flying Spaghetti Monster needs to give these people a good slap with his Noodly Appendage. [Edit: by “these people” I mean anyone who wants creationism/ID taught in science classes.]

Update

There’s a good point being made on Davblog:

Smylers rightfully points out some loose thinking on my part – which actually stems from some loose questions on MORI’s part (or maybe loose reporting of the questions on the BBC’s part). The point is that evolution does nothing to explain the origin of life. It only considers the development of life. So if you’re asked what best describes your view of the origin and development of life then evolution shouldn’t really be considered a possible answer.

Personally I don’t think that most people would have considered the question that deeply. And most people see it as a binary choice – evolution or creationism. So I’m still very surprised and worried by the data.